Campus Kitchen at W&L Hosts Annual Turkeypalooza The community is encouraged to participate and donate to support Campus Kitchen’s seasonal programming, which kicks off Nov. 9.

By Emily Innes Stanley
October 27, 2025

The Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee University (CKWL) presents its annual Turkeypalooza starting Nov. 9. CKWL hosts several unique events during this series, including holiday meals at partner organizations, a Pumpkin “Pie”ve-K 5K run/walk fundraiser and the annual Indigenous Community Meal.

“Alongside the joy and celebration of the holiday season come numerous additional stressors and costs for families experiencing poverty,” said Ryan Brink ’18, assistant director of the Shepherd Program and CKWL coordinator. “The annual Campus Kitchen Turkeypalooza events are an opportunity to spread awareness about those elevated levels of need, share information about the Campus Kitchen and our food relief programs, and raise money in support of those efforts.”

Kicking off this year’s Turkeypalooza is the Pumpkin “Pie”ve-K 5K run/walk fundraiser at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The race will begin and end on Cannan Green, with participants making three laps around W&L’s lower campus. Participants can register online for the event, and the $25 registration fee supports the Campus Kitchen Mobile Food Pantry and its efforts to alleviate local area food insecurity this holiday season. Every race participant will receive a slice of pumpkin pie.

Turkeypalooza festivities will continue with the fifth annual Indigenous Community Meal at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Evans Dining Hall. Co-sponsored by the Native American Student Organization and the Native American and Indigenous Cohort, the evening will feature discussions surrounding the influence of indigenous wisdom and foodways, the impact of the modern Thanksgiving narrative and a meal incorporating indigenous recipes and ingredients. Register for the Indigenous Community Meal.

Throughout the week of Thanksgiving, CKWL will prepare and deliver Thanksgiving meals to its community partners throughout Lexington and Rockbridge County. Donations to support Campus Kitchen’s continued efforts can also be made online.

“At Campus Kitchen, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to have a dignified holiday season, and we are committed to doing what we can in support of that vision,” said Brink.

The mission of The Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee is to use service as a way to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities through food. Campus Kitchen combats hunger and promotes nutrition by recovering and reusing food that would otherwise go to waste into balanced meals for low-income community members in Rockbridge County.